Q & A with Perth Artist James Giddy

July 22, 2014

You may have seen some of his paintings on walls around Perth now we chat to the man behind the art, James Giddy, about what inspires his artworks.

Who is James Giddy?
I’m James; I was born in South Africa, but came here with the family after a short year and a bit. I went through school and basically got straight into art. I enjoy skating, boogieboarding and good music. I started a fine arts degree at Curtin earlier this year, it’s alright but it’s really time consuming during semester so I find it hard to do art for myself during that time…

How would you describe your artistic style?
I’d like to say rough, but I’m not really sure, it’s more how I see? The audience can choose how they describe it, I just haven’t really thought of it as fitting in with a description… It’s way more my feeling and seeing. If I was describing my recent work it would be easy, it’s pretty much the idea of looking at the full picture… I combine elements of environments and put them into the one image to enforce people to see both aspects and broaden their vision.

What types of mediums do you use?

I use all sorts of media however I prefer using charcoal, watercolour, inks and acrylic in most of my work (a bit of spray paint and exterior house paint for murals though)

What is your favourite artistic subject to paint?
I love painting buildings and landscapes… I don’t do them a lot because I never like how I paint them. I guess I like animals as well but not as much as landscapes. Actually scratch that, I think I like doing things that people don’t see every day so they’re less particular in their opinion about what it’s supposed to look like.

What is your biggest achievement so far in your career?
I’ve only just started my career so there’s not much to choose from… however I was pretty stoked with my first mural commissioning at the Ocean Beach Hotel! It started off with just one wall and ended up with the whole beer garden! I was also part of this PLCOCA Exhibition and out of the 4 pieces I entered into it I sold 3! I’m pretty excited for my first show coming up on the 27th, It wasn’t quite what I had in mind for my first show but I was granted the opportunity and decided it would be a good starting point if nothing else.

What is your favourite Perth hangout?

There are a few spots I know that are just incredible; you have to double take where you are in the world when you’re there! I won’t share those ones, but I do like the Freo ports, most of the beaches and some parts of bold park.

What would you like to see more of in Perth?
I’d like to see town councils that are more open to artwork as an aesthetic thing and not always digging around the edges questioning the meanings and motives for a particular spot. Sometimes a blank wall in a lifeless environment would look better with a bit of colour and a nice picture on it!